Aftermarket vs. genuine front bars for e-series

[chamb0]

G'day ladies & gentlemen, I'm looking to replace or repair my front bumper due to damage sustained while parked next to a bus stop :/

I have a thread about this in the paint and panel section, but I thought I would pose the question here too to see if any e-series owners have experience with this.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11359273

What sort of quality are the aftermarket/reproduction bars for these? I have heard they often don't fit well, is this correct?

The colour I need is Mercury Silver (X5) and I've had no luck with any wreckers around me. As I've mentioned in the other thread, I've got heaps of quotes. Repairing it seems dodgy due to cracks and breakages and costs nearly as much as just replacing the whole thing, best quote for aftermarket bar is $420, genuine is $620 (both painted and fitted). It's a lot of money, I am fussy about my car though.

I live in inner north Melbourne.

What are people's advice here, and has anyone had a positive experience with the aftermarket ones? Cheers!

[Sorted]

Genuine is always better but difference between $420 and $620 is a pretty good saving - surely the fit would have to be gauranteed by the repairer?

[pcman]

ive used aftermarket parts on a few cars sb barina and my f350 plus a ax telstar ,

the sb barina we fitted a bumper, fitted very poorly and the guard trims fitted ok but not great

my f350 i used headlight trims, the grill and the bumper all fitted fine but its a f350 the tolerances are pretty big

ax telstar i fitted a new outta the box bonnet too , it would not close and was not flat so i had to twist the whole bonnet to get it to sit flush,


id defiantly go genuine if you can get one or keep hunting wreckers for a 99% used one

[MAD]

I didn't even know there was a repro bar for these cars.

[Mad Drummer]

the damage to the bar doesnt look that bad, i think a good pannel beater would be able to repair that at low cost. if you have a look at my thread mine got smashed, got a new bar for around 350 from a plastic welder, was genuine and ready for paint. im also needing to get the rear bar fixed now, i will need a new one as its cracked but otherwise it would have been fine

[chamb0]

Originally Posted by Sorted

Genuine is always better but difference between $420 and $620 is a pretty good saving - surely the fit would have to be gauranteed by the repairer?

I would hope so! Knowing my luck though, if something's going to go wrong it will, so I'll just have to be really pedantic. I know it would be guaranteed under my insurance, but I'm not going that route.

Originally Posted by MAD

I didn't even know there was a repro bar for these cars.

The bloke offering this option was a bit cagey about where they come from, all he said was "3 different sources." Hopefully it's not from Phat Custom Kits...

Originally Posted by Mad Drummer

the damage to the bar doesnt look that bad, i think a good pannel beater would be able to repair that at low cost. if you have a look at my thread mine got smashed, got a new bar for around 350 from a plastic welder, was genuine and ready for paint. im also needing to get the rear bar fixed now, i will need a new one as its cracked but otherwise it would have been fine

Which plastic welder did you go to? Had a look through your thread but couldn't find details. Nice car, and it seems like it's had a few adventures
Mine doesn't look as serious as yours, but opinion seems divided over whether it's economical to repair or not. One place even wanted to send it off for repair and charge me $700-800... The quote of $620 for a genuine one was made up of $270 for purchase/fitting and $350 for paint.

[Sorted]

Originally Posted by chamb0

The quote of $620 for a genuine one was made up of $270 for purchase/fitting and $350 for paint.

eBay has a Front Bar for $135 - unsure if its genuine though
$135 with out moulds http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-EF-EL...item3a7120d61e

$205 with inserts http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-EF-EL...item3cc3190d46

[SPArKy_Dave]

Originally Posted by chamb0

The bloke offering this option was a bit cagey about where they come from, all he said was "3 different sources." Hopefully it's not from Phat Custom Kits....

Two of the three place's, would quite likely be Allcrash supplies, and SSS.

[SlyClone]

Originally Posted by Mad Drummer

the damage to the bar doesnt look that bad, i think a good pannel beater would be able to repair that at low cost. if you have a look at my thread mine got smashed, got a new bar for around 350 from a plastic welder, was genuine and ready for paint. im also needing to get the rear bar fixed now, i will need a new one as its cracked but otherwise it would have been fine

I class myself as a very good panel beater and let me tell you that repairing that bar is uneconomical. If you get it repaired at low cost you will get a poor job. Yes the plastic can be heated up and pushed into shape (roughly) sanded back, cleaned with prepsol, treated with adhesive promoter and filled using a 2 part flexible filler. But the time taken for this alone, not taking into account the extra time to repair the 2 splits and the broken tab that I can see in the pictures, then prep and paint plus removal and refitting, it's going to be a costly repair compared to replacing with a secondhand or recon part.

[Mad Drummer]

Originally Posted by SlyClone

I class myself as a very good panel beater and let me tell you that repairing that bar is uneconomical. If you get it repaired at low cost you will get a poor job. Yes the plastic can be heated up and pushed into shape (roughly) sanded back, cleaned with prepsol, treated with adhesive promoter and filled using a 2 part flexible filler. But the time taken for this alone, not taking into account the extra time to repair the 2 splits and the broken tab that I can see in the pictures, then prep and paint plus removal and refitting, it's going to be a costly repair compared to replacing with a secondhand or recon part.

like a said, all i went off was what happened with mine. maybe im wrong and if i am so be it but thats my experience

[chamb0]

Thanks very much fellas for the helpful advice. I will be looking at having a reco'd genuine bar fitted when I get the time and will update on how it goes. Meanwhile, the EL was egged out in the street, someone out there isn't a Ford fan!

[Mad Drummer]

it was a guy in ferntreegully, will see if i still have a number floating around.
in terms of getting it repaired....call this guy. "Paintworks - 9793 9002" hes in Dandenong but hes good, did my car.

yea a few to say the least haha, thanks though mate, im sure yours will look nice and new soon enough

[chamb0]

Originally Posted by Sorted

eBay has a Front Bar for $135 - unsure if its genuine though
$135 with out moulds http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-EF-EL...item3a7120d61e

$205 with inserts http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-EF-EL...item3cc3190d46

Ta for that, looks like they're repros from the description. Nearly everyone I got a quote from mentioned the moulds are hard to come by.

Originally Posted by Mad Drummer

it was a guy in ferntreegully, will see if i still have a number floating around.
in terms of getting it repaired....call this guy. "Paintworks - 9793 9002" hes in Dandenong but hes good, did my car.

yea a few to say the least haha, thanks though mate, im sure yours will look nice and new soon enough

Thanks chief, and I'll give the Dandenong guy a call. I'll try a couple more places for a repair, if no luck I will haunt the lonely wreckers yards until I get sick of it all and just pay for a genuine replacement. I can't shake the feeling an aftermarket one is going to look a bit funny.

[Mad Drummer]

if you wanted to go somthing aftermatket, check this out http://ssv.com.au.

i looked into these guys when mine got crashed but decided not to only as they are in sydney.

also these are the plastic welders i got my front bar from, give them a try
http://knoxplasticwelding.com.au/